Tag: Georgia

Intellectual Property

High Court Copyright Ruling Expands Government Edicts Doctrine

Written by Eleanor M. Lackman and Craig C. Bradley

On April 27, the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time in 130 years addressed the government edicts doctrine, a court-made rule holding that state government edicts having the force of law are not eligible for copyright protection.  

The doctrine provides that state and local government officials acting in their governmental capacity are not considered “authors” as that term is understood in copyright law.  Without authorship, no copyright protection is available for the work.  This principle has made judicial opinions and statutes freely available to publish and review free from claims of copyright infringement.

The decision in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., raised a new issue: not whether the law itself was copyrightable, but whether annotations and other analytical materials accompanying the law were also barred from copyright protection under the government edicts doctrine. Continue reading “High Court Copyright Ruling Expands Government Edicts Doctrine”

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COVID-19, Labor & Employment

Georgia Employers On the Hook

Georgia: Employers Must File Partial Unemployment Insurance Claims for Their Employees

Written by Jeremy Mittman and Carly Epstein

On March 16, 2020, Georgia’s Department of Labor (the “Georgia DOL”) became the first state to adopt a rule that requires employers to file partial unemployment claims for any week during which an employee (full-time or part-time) has his or her hours reduced or eliminated due to a partial or total company shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Under Georgia law, partial unemployment claims apply to employees who will experience a reduction in hours or a temporary layoff.  Employers must file partial unemployment claims online by visiting the Employer Portal, and must file partial claims for each weekly pay period during the temporary reduction/layoff. Continue reading “Georgia Employers On the Hook”

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